Humanities

All Humanities subjects are offered as electives at Year 10.

The Humanities is a study of human progress. Students examine how people have organised themselves in societies over time. They consider how people interact with their physical environment as well as each other. The knowledge, skills and values that students acquire in this study enable them to participate as confident, responsible and active citizens in a democratic society.

Fascists & Dictators

Aim

This subject’s aims are:

• To examine the causes and effects of key events throughout the Twentieth Century, including the such as the Interwar years, World War II, the Holocaust, and the Cold War, along with the regimes, ideologies and leaders that perpetuated such events.
• To maximise key historical skills such as source analysis, use of chronology and exploration of significance in preparation for future study of History. 

Content

In Year 9, we learned about World War I – but what happened after that? How and why did the 1920s and 1930s see the rise of fascist governments, such as in Mussolini’s Italy, Franco’s Spain, and then Hitler’s Nazi Germany? How did these dictators gain and hold on to their power? And what about Lenin, Stalin, and communism – how was communist ideology affecting the lives of people around the world? 

We will consider how these dramatic power plays exploded into the deadliest global conflict to date – World War II – and why it also saw the persecution of Jewish people and other societal groups, which culminated in the Holocaust. 

Following the devastation wreaked by World War II, we will examine the global challenges faced in the aftermath, and how the continued jostling for power and influence by world leaders then led to the age of the Cold War, which brought the world to the brink of potential nuclear catastrophe. 

Assessment

Assessment is by satisfactory completion of a range of tasks including film studies, topic test, oral presentation and research projects. 

Gender Agenda

Aim

This subject’s aims are:

• To understand how the impact of women’s movements and rights crosses time and borders.
• To build on key geographic and research skills from Year 9 in preparation for VCE Humanities studies.

Content

Australian girls are constitutionally guaranteed the right to an education and are not expected to work before the age of fifteen. Why is this not the case for millions of girls your age worldwide? How have the Suffragettes, the feminist movement, and democracy helped you and not yet reached millions of others? Why are there so few Malalas in the world? The wellbeing of women globally is improving — but achingly slowly. We will research how the mainstream media portray women and ask ourselves why this may be and how you can recognise this in the information you consume. You’ll research and map levels of female inequality, opportunity, domestic violence, attitudes to rape, sex slavery, education internationally. There will be a global focus on China, India, the Middle East, Africa as well as parts of mainstream and Indigenous Australia culture, where women’s issues still remain surprisingly prevalent. 

Assessment

Assessment is by satisfactory completion of a range of tasks including fieldwork, topic tests, research assignments and classroom presentations.

Politics & Power

Aim

This subject’s aims are:

• To understand and apply fundamental political concepts.
• To understand the nature of contemporary politics and power in national and global contexts. 

Communism, socialism, capitalism, democracy and dictatorships – these are all terms that we hear every day, but what do they mean? In this subject, we will explore the complex relationship between politics and power upon individuals, societies and institutions worldwide to ultimately understand what it takes to navigate our increasingly globalised world. 

Alongside exploration of these often intangible political concepts, we will also examine the effects political concepts have on people who live in societies governed by these ideologies and governmental systems. This will be done in consideration of the role religion plays in the running of modern countries. This study will help students understand how these seemingly intangible concepts shape our lives on a daily basis. 

Moreover, by exploring the work of intergovernmental agencies such the United Nations, students will analyse what the UN actually does and how successful they are at achieving their aims of fostering peace and cooperation throughout the world by critiquing its ongoing value as a governing institution. We will also consider various contemporary case studies, historical contexts and real-life situations such as Chinese/US/Australian political relations, the North Korean state, the rise and stagnation of terror groups and UN military intervention in different countries. This study will introduce you to political philosophy and will help to understand the all-pervading influence of politics throughout every corner of our world. 

Assessment

Assessment is by satisfactory completion of a range of tasks including research assignments, debates, film analyses, classroom presentations and topic tests. 

Unlimited Wealth

Aim

This subject’s aims are:

• To introduce how economic decisions play a role in all facets of life.
• To maximise understanding of basic economic theory in preparation for future study in Business Management or Accounting.

Content

This elective introduces students to the concept of wealth creation in a society and explores how riches are shared between people within the community. Students learn about money and how it is important to everyday life in the 21st Century, as well as some of the ways people make money, including working and investing/owning valuable assets such as properties and businesses.

This elective develops students’ knowledge and understanding of the nature and operation of different types of economic systems including market capitalism. It examines how prices are adjusted to achieve equilibrium in all markets, including food and clothing. Students explore ethical and social responsibility issues relating to markets such as: human exploitation, animal rights and damage to the environment. Moreover, students will consider the future of employment and wealth creation in Australia as the impacts of rapidly advancing technologies disrupt traditional industries and how technology augments and changes the nature of work and career opportunities in a modern economy. 

Assessment

Assessment is by satisfactory completion of a range of tasks including field work, topic tests, research assignments and classroom presentations. 

Year 10 students can elect to study Unit 1 & 2 of the following Humanities subjects. The 2023 VCE Curriculum Handbook has full details of the area of study and content of each unit. 

VCE Accounting

VCE Business Management

VCE Economics

VCE Global Politics

VCE History 

VCE Legal Studies

VCE Sociology